Romeo and Juliet
by sunderlandprincess
Summary: Just the beginning of a Val/Tyler fic...please read and review. Thanks!
1. Default Chapter Title

Val shifted her weight in the chair and bit her lip, frustrated with herself. "This is definitely not right. It sounds so stupid." She told Brooke, who was seated on the bed next to the desk, as she crumpled up the note and threw it at the trash can, but missed.

"All love letters sound stupid." The younger girl said, and sighed. This was the twelfth time Val had stopped writing and had thrown away her pathetic attempt to tell Tyler her feelings, and Brooke wished they could just quit and get going. Val was supposed to drive her to the mall to meet Nick and Amy. 

"Well this one is supposed to be…I don't know…beautiful." She said, her voice wiry.

"Right, and you're just going to fall into Tyler's arms and kiss him for, like, a year, and everything's going to be perfect. Can we go now?" 

She rather liked the picture Brooke had painted for her and rested her chin in her hand on the desk, thinking longingly of the day when that really _would_ happen. 

"Val?" Her sister got up off the bed and waved her arm in front Val.

She snapped out of her little daydream. "Huh? Oh, yeah, the mall. Sorry." Closing her notebook and dropping her gel pen she followed Brooke out the door. No letter was going to be big enough to fit all her feelings for Tyler.

***

The evening was turning out to be quiet at the station. Jamie was engrossed in his video game with his feet propped up on the table and Hank was asleep on the top bunk of the bed by the door. Tyler was working on his inventory report and Val was seated next to him attempting to finish her English homework—that had been due the day before. She couldn't help but notice how cute he looked when the light hit him the way that it did. 

"You know…" She started, but stopped. Wouldn't it sound even stupider if she told him right out how he felt? Val didn't think she had the guts.

He looked up. "Huh?" 

"Never mind. Forget I said anything. I must have been daydreaming about something and then thought out loud." She prayed that little white lie wouldn't count against her in the future. 

Tyler smiled. "I do that a lot. I start to think about something special and then I…" he paused, "yeah. Sorry. I'm not making much sense tonight." 

Humph. Her _mind_ wasn't making any sense that night—and at that point she felt that nothing Tyler did was wrong or stupid. "You're making more sense than these questions. I mean, I don't even understand what we're reading, how am I supposed to answer the questions?" 

"Well," he shifted closer to her to read the question she was working on over her shoulder and to reach over and grab the book they were reading; _Romeo and Juliet_. "Imagine loving someone so much that you can't…can't stand to be away from them…and you get upset at everything that separates you. You just love this other person more than anything in the world and all you have to figure out is…" Tyler stopped, seeing Val hanging on to his every word, but continued again after the pause. "how to be together for the rest of your life." 

TO BE CONTINUED….tell me if you like what you've read so far. Happy holidays all.


	2. Default Chapter Title

Romeo and Juliet pt. 2….sorry that took so long—I was away last week J

{Tyler stopped, seeing Val hanging on to his every word, but continued again after the pause. "how to be together for the rest of your life."}

When he stopped his sentence she snapped back into reality and looked blankly at the paper without really seeing it. What on earth was she doing? What would she do if something happened? What would she say after Tyler kissed her…the world didn't work like a romance novel where the moment was just so perfect they didn't need words or anything. "Okay," she managed, noticing that Tyler pulled away. Was he disappointed? Relieved? Was _she_ relieved? She couldn't quite tell. "I think I get it."

"Good." His voice was flat. He probably didn't know he'd even said something—his mind was back on what he had been doing before. 

Val's mind lingered, touching different thoughts she'd been playing with all day. She didn't answer the questions for school, figuring that she could do it the next day at lunch. New Year's Eve was coming up fast, only eleven days left, and wouldn't it be romantic to spend the night with Tyler? A nice candlelight dinner at the town's Italian restaurant with a walk through the icy park with only the stars above looking on…she flipped her pencil between her fingers thoughtfully.

A loud sound woke her up—they had a call. She had to stop dreaming and get to work.

***

The next morning dawned frigid—the only thing that prevented it from snowing was the fact that there were no clouds, just a cold blue sky. Even the sun didn't seem quite warm. Val noticed that all day at school Tyler seemed zoned out completely—which wasn't terrible since it was the last day before break and most of the classes contained nothing redeeming.

"Are you okay?" She finally asked on the walk to the EMS station. The rime that covered the ground crunched steadily under her feet and they had to walk carefully so as not to slip on the puddles that had frozen over.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little tired I guess. You know…" He didn't look up from the ground although there appeared to be nothing on the sidewalk he was actually looking _at_.

"What?" They walked into the station and the heat flooded over them welcomingly.

"Well, what are you doing on…New Year's Eve? Because I would like to…" Tyler didn't need to say much more because she got the point. 

Val wondered why he'd even asked. He very well knew there wasn't any other guy that she was going out with and since they spent most of their time together anyway, he knew almost too much about her. And then a thought crossed her mind—why was it so hard to admit to him her feelings if they were such good friends? Maybe that was the way it was meant to be. 

"I'd love to." She answered smiling. Before they reached the common room and the kitchen Tyler stopped her gently and kissed her on the forehead. 

_Funny_. She thought, her heart pounding and heat coursing through her veins. _I guess there actually aren't any words they could say to each other. The kiss had said enough_. 


	3. Default Chapter Title

The whole week they were off school before Christmas the teens were on duty most of the day, which at least gave them a chance to sleep at night. Sleep should have felt wonderful, but Val woke up many times in the night, her head filled with thoughts—doubts. Tyler had clearly avoided her that week even though he obviously meant to look like he wasn't. His words with her had been short when he _did_ speak and he never seemed to look up from the ground or his work. She was so confused and kept flipping over in the bed even though she was beyond trying to get to sleep again. 

Apparently, Val was making a lot of noise because Brooke sat up sleepily in her bed across the room and asked. "What are you doing?" Her voice was soft and she yawned, looking at the clock. "It's two thirty in the morning!"

"Sorry, Brooke." She sighed. "Just thinking. Go back to sleep." 

But her younger sister's head had already hit the pillow again and she was asleep. All the better for her—at least she _could_ sleep. 

Val turned over again and rested on that side for a little while, letting the darkness of the room envelop her. Tyler had kissed her—not on the lips, but he had kissed her, romantic just the same—and obviously he was confused, too, but what was going on? How come she couldn't talk to him like she used to. It was like a barrier had been broken but she still held herself back. She couldn't make him talk to her, after all, but she was being mature right? She didn't know. She was beyond knowing. 

She turned her head to look out the window at the full moon as hot tears burned down her face and hoped that across town, maybe, just maybe, Tyler was staring at the same moon.

***

Tyler woke up with a start and looked at the clock on the nightstand next to his bed. The big, red, digital numbers shone brightly. 2:31 AM. It had been 1:15 when he last checked it, but he had fallen asleep and dreamed this time as opposed to just constantly tossing. He couldn't stop thinking of Val. He felt terrible, as if he had struggled to get over a mountain only to find miles of more peaks. 

He'd been a total jerk. Why ask her out if he didn't really mean it? But he _did_ mean it; that was thing. He loved her more than anything in the world and for two years he'd known that but never done anything about it—and now that he had he couldn't bring himself to even talk to her. He couldn't find any reason that made sense why he was cutting himself off. He'd gotten over the biggest part; he'd actually asked her out and now they were going to stay up 'till midnight together in town at the big clock tower and have a romantic dinner at an Italian restaurant with only the stars above them. Was he totally blowing it? Probably. He had to talk to her before she started hating him, because truly, he was being pretty mean. How would he feel if Val had done the same to him? 

Terrible.

He shifted his position again to stare out the window. The moon was filled with silver and a perfect circle. It was so beautiful. It reminded him of Val—bright and gorgeous. He vowed to talk to her the next morning, but he still had to get through the rest of the night.

***

Val and Brooke got to the station at nine, earlier than anyone else, which left her more time to think. She would talk to Tyler—ask him what was going on. She really wanted New Year's Eve to be the most perfect night of the year (or new year, after midnight). 

"Um, Brooke, can you go…um…do something." She asked her younger sister as Tyler arrived the next minute, looking hotter than ever. She was sure she wouldn't be able to control herself but somehow she did.

"But, Val, I have to…" The twelve year old protested. 

"Now, please." Val gave her a hard stare that told her to do as she asked and the girl sighed, walking off to talk to Alex.

Quickly, she sat stood at the counter and turned on and off the sink to look like she had been doing something. "Hey." 

Tyler seemed totally zonked, as if he hadn't gotten any sleep, just like her. "Oh, um, hey." He hung up his winter coat and then asked. "Could you come with me for a sec? I need some help." _Lame. Totally lame._ He thought.

Her heart began to beat faster and she suddenly felt very hot and very faint. Did he really need help or was he going to ask or tell her something? She hoped that it was the latter and that he couldn't feel the ground shaking from her heartbeat. 

"Uh, yeah. What is it?" She gave him a quizzical look. 

He took her left hand with his right and dragged her out into the hallway, checking first to see that no one was there. What was he doing? She hoped again that he couldn't feel her steadily racing heart and that he would catch her if her knees gave way. 

"Val…I…" _Come on Connell, get with it. Say it. She must think you're nuts_. He thought to himself, and took the advice. "I'm so sorry." There, that hadn't been all that bad.

Val steadied herself against the wall that propped her up. She could feel every shift of his fingers on hers and the blood drained from her head. "For what?" She forced out.

He smiled weakly. "For being a total, total jerk to you…this whole weak. I just…I figured that after I'd…aa…asked you out everything would change."

"Why would it?" She asked softly, not really meaning it but feeling exactly the same way he did. 

He shifted his glance but the steady rubbing movement of his strong, handsome fingers continued. "I have no idea. I guess I figured that you would think of me differently or something…" 

She shook her head slowly. "It couldn't. It could never change, Tyler, because…because…I…"

At that moment Alex walked hurriedly through the hallway with Brooke tagging along behind him, apparently trying to stop him. When he saw the two teens in a compromising position he stopped, eyes sharp.

"Val, Tyler. I'm disappointed in you." His voice cut through the both of them and Tyler let his comforting grip on her go. "You know what being too personal on the job could do and I would never have expected…_this_…from you two. Two of my best." 

"Alex, we…" She started but didn't have time to finish, because their boss had started again.

"What if we'd gotten a call and you two were too caught up in your emotions to act properly? Someone could die!"

"Alex, please…we…" She tried again, but to no avail.

"Now, I'm letting you off with a warning since you are two of my best, but I don't want to see this again. The station is not where you need to be making out!" He was angry, and there was no stopping him once he was mad. Alex gave them a harsh look before walking off.

"But, Alex, we weren't…" Tyler attempted but the older man would not hear it, he just kept walking.

Val sighed and leaned her head against the wall. Tyler seemed distraught, as well. "I'm sorry. I guess…well…Brooke, can you please go somewhere else?" 

The younger girl rolled her eyes and walked off.

"I guess we'll have to save this for New Year's Eve. We're still on, right?" He asked.

She smiled at him, feeling her knees go weak. "Of course." New Year's Eve sure was going to be interesting.

Part 4 is coming sometime soon, too…dunno…. 


	4. Default Chapter Title

IAHB Fic Part 4:

December 31st dawned cloudy but cool. Val must have tried on five or six dresses before finding the right one. She was so nervous she figured she'd sweat through the outfit before Tyler even came to pick her up. The night had an air of excitement too it so unique she almost squealed with pure delight. 

"I don't see what's the big deal. It's just Tyler." Brooke said, flopping herself down on the bed with a magazine. "I mean, you see him everyday."

"Brooke, you wouldn't understand." She stood in front of the mirror to check her appearance, and once satisfied turned to her little sister. "Wait 'till you're older—and you and Nick are going out. It's so obvious you like him." She smirked, trying to hold in her laughter.

"That is _so_ not funny. Nick and I are just friends, anyway." Brooke made a pathetic attempt to end the conversation.

"_Right_." Val muttered giddily under her breath. "What time is it?"

Brooke sighed and looked at the clock. "Seven fifteen."

Tyler should have been there to pick her up fifteen minutes ago. Was he going to stand her up? Or was he just trying not to be forward? Her questions were answered with the ring of the doorbell. 

***

By the time they had finished with dinner and were headed out to walk the streets until midnight, when they would be at the large clock tower at the centre of town, it was raining. The ice cold droplets each hit like knives and they ended up spending most of the evening in the fast food restaurants and at bus stops where they found shelter.

When it was eleven, they left to make the long walk down to the town's centre and it was still pouring. Val was freezing. She didn't think she'd ever been so cold in her life. Her jacket was soaked through and so were her feet, which she couldn't really feel anymore. 

"Are you really cold?" Tyler asked.

"Yeah." She nodded, shivering.

"Come here." He, very politely, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her close to him as they walked. She figured she would get warm enough just from the pounding in her heart and veins. 

"Thanks." Val nodded weakly. She felt as if she were going to faint.

"This isn't really the romantic New Year's Eve it was supposed to be, is it?" He asked after they had walked a little ways. 

She shrugged, not wanting to insult him. "It's a little chilly, but I'm here with you, and that's what counts." 

"You're right." He smiled at her and leaned into her a little farther. "Let's stop for a second."

They turned off the crowded street to the edge of the sidewalk and a wall that bordered the river. The wind off the water whipped by, burning her face hard. 

"You know, I'd always dreamed about being here with you," Tyler started, "and to have dinner at a fancy Italian restaurant with only the…" 

She finished the sentence with him, smiling. "…stars above us. So did I."

He faced her towards him and they lost themselves in a sensuous kiss that felt too perfect to be true. _Then what's wrong with this picture?_ Val thought to herself, pulling away. _I shouldn't be doing this_. She found no logical reason to be upset, not with Tyler, but with the situation, but she was. Terribly. She had enjoyed kissing Tyler so much—he was the sweetest and most handsome guy she'd ever met but there was something wrong. "I can't. I have to go."

Val pivoted on her heel and ran to the only place she knew that was close; the station. Tyler called after her, but she couldn't hear him—she didn't want to. She had to get away.


	5. Default Chapter Title

IAHB Fic part 5:

The station was bright with the sounds of people working so Val ran to the darkest corner of the hall behind the room where they all normally hung out, made sure no one was around, plopped herself on a box, and leaned her head against the wall and began to cry. What had she just done? Would Tyler ever speak to her again? And most of all, why? Why had she done that? She couldn't bring herself to understand what had made her want to stop the most perfect moment of her life—or was it really so perfect at all?

Within a few seconds, she heard the door slam again and the sound of rushed footsteps in her direction. Her worst fear: Tyler had followed her. She just tried to bury her face farther into the wall, letting the tears fall onto her lap. She'd have to face him sooner or later, although she preferred it would be later. She'd been so stupid, but for some reason she felt as though she'd done the right thing and gone with her gut feeling. 

"Val?" He asked softly, appearing in the doorway, his face shadowed so she couldn't have seen his expression if she tried. 

"Leave me alone!" She cried, her voice squeaking—Tyler couldn't see her like this; he just couldn't. 

She heard him chuckle. "You don't mean that. I know you too well."

Val slowly turned her head around to face him, her eyes red and her cheeks wet. "So you do. Why did you follow me?"

"Because," He stepped over and took a seat on the edge of the box, "I want to know what I did wrong."

"Nothing," She assured him quietly. "You didn't do anything wrong." Val hid her face once again against the wall, feeling even stupider. Tyler was being considerably nice and she was just being a jerk. 

"Then why did you run off crying? I kissed you because I thought we…well…we loved each other." He said frankly.

"It's not that. Really it isn't." 

"Then what is it?" 

She put her hand up to cradle her head and sniffed, wiping away a stray tear. "It's nothing. Just…please, can you go away? I'm not feeling well."

Tyler didn't seem perturbed by this. "Come on, Val, please tell me." Quickly he then put in. "I'm not going away until you do."

Val nodded slowly and faced him, moving her seat so that she was right next to him. "It's just that…that…we're only in high school. In less than two years, we're going to go to college. Move our separate ways. These kind of relationships only last in movies. The world doesn't work the way we want it to." Another tear had rolled down her face.

He thought about that for a moment. "What if I say that if I were to start a relationship with you as my girlfriend, from this moment on, it would last forever?"

"You promise?"

Tyler leaned over and kissed her gently on the lips, pulling away before saying. "I promise. And I never make a promise I don't keep."


End file.
